London, 17th December – As Palestine Action prisoners enter a life-threatening phase of their hunger strike, the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) calls for the immediate convening of a meeting between the Justice Secretary and the defendants’ legal representatives. Repeated, time-critical requests for such a meeting have been refused by the Secretary of State and his ministerial team.
Four of the prisoners have been held on remand for over a year, far beyond the legal Custody Time Limit of 182 days.
Of eight initial hunger strikers, six are still continuing their strike. The eight protestors (Qesser Zuhrah, Amu Gib, Heba Muraisi, Jon Cink, Teuta Hoxha, Kamran Ahmed, Muhammad Umer Khalid and Lewie Chiaramello) are awaiting trial for alleged offences at Elbit Systems in Bristol and the RAF’s Brize Norton base, both of which took place prior to the proscription of Palestine Action
Despite facing charges where bail is usually granted – even in cases far more serious, such as rape or weapons offences – these defendants remain in custody. Their continued detention appears designed to restrict their ability to access legal protections.
Lawyers representing the prisoners have said their clients are likely to die without immediate intervention, yet Justice Secretary David Lammy has refused to meet with their legal teams. Until recently, he claimed to have no knowledge of the strike at all.
It is striking that the UK’s largest hunger strike since 1981 has been all but ignored by mainstream media until it is perhaps too late. MPs in the Commons were heard laughing yesterday after Justice Minister Jake Richards dismissed Jeremy Corbyn’s request for a meeting on the situation with a flat ‘no.’ The response exposes both the Government’s indifference and the wider political establishment’s contempt for those risking their lives to be heard.
The UK government is actively enabling Israel’s genocide in Gaza. Its attempts to silence dissenters and those peacefully calling for an end to Israel’s war crimes are a revival of Thatcher-era tactics used to censor anyone demanding accountability from the British state.
Whilst the UK government has already shown that it is willing to pursue policies that support Israel in its killing of Palestinians, it is clear now that the Government is also ambivalent at best towards letting people die in protest on its own soil. By remaining complicit in Israel’s war crimes and the ongoing genocide, and by silencing those exposing this complicity, the state’s actions defy comprehension.
Mutahir Ahmed, ICJP’s Head of Legal, said:
“The UK government’s repeated rejection of requests for dialogue with the defendants’ legal team demonstrates a troubling disregard for due process and human life. Every day of delay heightens the risk to those striking for justice in Palestine and civil liberties at home. The government must act now to uphold the fair administration of justice and ensure that those risking their lives are heard without further delay.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors
- ICJP is a legal organisation based in London, working to uphold international law and defend the rights of Palestinians.
- For more information or for media inquiries, please contact the ICJP news desk at [email protected].
Image: Kwh1050 via Wikimedia Commons
